China bans major investors from reducing equity holdings daily

China has banned major institutional investors from reducing equity holdings at the open and close of each trading day to support the $8.6 trillion stock market. The ban aims to prevent bearish bets and market manipulation. The move follows a 17% drop in the benchmark CSI 300 Index over the past year. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is also cracking down on quantitative trading and studying measures to tighten IPO approvals and combat financial fraud.